


The Legacy Plan

by TwinkleBright



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ben Parker Lives, Bullying, I'm bad at updates, No Beta, Norman isn't a shit dad, Peter really wants the best for everyone, Pre-Spider Bite Peter Parker, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 06:20:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20253547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwinkleBright/pseuds/TwinkleBright
Summary: "He wants you in our labs for sure. I do too." Harry grinned and pulled Peter through the dark service corridors of the Oscorp Building."Har, that was always the plan, remember?" Peter trotted to try to keep from being dragged like a pull-along toy."Yeah, you making discoveries, me keeping the company running and making good deals, Gwen keeping you from breaking laws and keeping you safe, MJ running PR and keeping me safe." Harry recited. It had pretty much been his bedtime story since he was little. Only small things changed."We are gonna make Oscorp bigger than SI or Pym Tech." And yeah, Peter knew the story too because all the sleepovers and playdates.





	1. Playdate Plans

It started with a playdate. 

Emily wanted Harry to get to spend time with other kids his age. Mary Parker couldn't find a reason to turn down her boss's wife. 

Harry was bigger than Peter and Peter was a cuddly trusting toddler. Harry spent the whole time following Peter and shoving his toys into Peter's hands. During snack they mixed their cheerios together and Harry made sure that Peter ate as much as he did. After that the boys fell asleep cuddling together.

Mary was charmed and Emily was just so pleased to see her spoiled boy sharing. So it became an every other day thing, then a month later Harry's nanny was watching both boys every day and refused to take a dime from the Parkers because Harry was so much easier to manage with Peter. So the grateful couple bought passes for Snapology and tumbling classes and piano lessons as a way to share costs.

Norman was doubtful of the attachment his boy was forming. But he and Emily took a day and took the boys to a Maker Fair. The boys were 3 and 4 but already taking things a part and they loved the whole event. Harry said he needed a Cupcake Car, Peter was oddly still as he watched the synchronized drones. 

"Just watch." She told him as they found a make your own robot booth. He had thought to set the boys to compete against each other but Emily pulled him back. Peter took the lead on drawing plans, but Harry made them happen. Peter's idea was sneered at by a bigger kid which made the kid deflate and curl in on himself and Harry whispered something to Peter that made the younger boy perk up and dig in to their creation. In the end they had a quadcopter with claws that swooped down and started picking up trash.

Norman knew then that Harry was not going to be an innovator, but he was going to be a leader. His son would be his heir as planned, but he would be his best with a mind like Peter's to protect and defend. That night he finalized Harry's place in the line of succession. He also drew up a contract for the Parker's to ensure that Peter would only have the best education no matter what happened.

Several years later it felt like his world was crashing. Emily's leukemia won, the Parkers were assassinated… Peter was living in a rent controlled two bed in Queens with his aunt and uncle and Norman knew the two hated him, he thought maybe even blamed him. Norman focused on what he could control, his company. 

He focused on his legacy plan too. They moved from the penthouse in Manhattan to a large brownstone in Queens. It was close to the apartment Peter lived in. He found a small private school in Forest Hills with both a great science focus and fantastic teacher to class ratios he paid extra to ensure school supplies where there and that his boys were always together. 

He made sure the Parkers knew that if they needed help he was there. He faked a contract that made it look like the assistance for Peter was required by his late parents. It was the only way he could find that didn't make it look like charity to the proud couple.

Harry would become a great leader and businessman, Peter would be an amazing scientist. He followed their schooling and made playdates happen. He learned how to praise the boys because Emily would have been so proud of them. 

He learned not to compare them, but find where they raised each other up. Harry had an ear for music and languages. Peter found math easier than speaking. He couldn't help but feel something snap back into place the first time the boys fell asleep on him while watching some old animated movie.

Yes, they were his legacy.


	2. Middle School Sucks

Peter Parker spent kindergarten through fifth grade in a small private school due to a deal in a contract his mom and dad had with Oscorp that gave the company the licensing rights for a CRISPR like process that worked using phages and viruses to alter non-embryonic cells. 

Mr. Osborn liked to tell him about his parents and their breakthroughs and discoveries. He also told him about how his dad had always planned on being there to help with school and how his mom and Harry's mom used to take them both to the park and zoo. Uncle Ben told him about growing up with his dad and how intelligent he was. Aunt May told him about how charming both his parents were and how kind to every person they met. She also said Ben looked up to his brother even though he was the older son.

There were times he realized he remembered more than just how they looked and sounded, but he wasn't sure anymore what was his memory and what was pieced together from stories. He confided this to Harry one day when they were nine and in a treehouse in Harry's backyard and Harry said he was having the same issue with his mom too. Both knew it was normal, but it still hurt.

The boys shared almost everything and were as close as brothers. On the very first day of elementary school they expanded their friendship to Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson. No adult was sure of why the group was so set on being a unit, but the four banded together and were either absolute terrors or perfect little angels. It depended upon if they decided if they liked a person or not. For a while the quartet was inseparable. 

Before the start of 6th grade, just after the aliens attack, Harry was shipped off to Switzerland for boarding school. Mary Jane was cast in a Tween show and moves to LA. Gwen went to a private prep school in the Upper East Side, and her family moved too. 

Peter was alone for the first time that he could remember. He had tested into a faster paced environment and skipped a grade or two. He tried to fit in, to be nice. He tried to stop his smart mouth. He ended up being exceedingly thankful for the school using online homework and essay submission tools because his notebooks and books regularly ended up in toilets. 

He stopped looking at Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat after a week as his profiles were trashed and if he was @'d it was something embarrassing or horrifying. Only his Discord and Twitter were safe, but that was because they used Oscorp emails for those and no one at school knew about Harry and Mr Osborn.

Harry wasn't able to call. Harry didn't have access to the internet during free time at his school. If he had, Peter wouldn't have wanted him to worry. MJ was always so busy and had no ability to use her social media accounts by herself. If she had been able to talk freely, Peter wouldn't have wanted her to know because she would have insisted she come home. Gwen was never an option because of all of them Gwen knew how to fight and would have started breaking people.

Peter tried to ask Uncle Ben, but then he got some speech about his great aunt and being a tree. It was confusing and didn't really help. Uncle Ben then found something dumb PSA done by Captain America about standing up to bullies and telling adults. Which was bull because he had literally just tried to tell an adult who decided that this YouTube video was gonna fix him.

Peter spent the next nine months literally biting his tongue when he wanted to snarl and making himself as small and quiet as he could. He doubled down on schoolwork and started doing all his notes and work on his tablet because Mr Osborn had made sure it was backed up on his servers and no one was dumb enough to trash a $500 computer. 

For the first time he could recall, Peter hated school. And he felt like it broke something in him to admit it.


	3. Sneaking on Sunday

Harry talked his dad into letting him come home in time for a bit in the summer his first year at the Leysin American School and the first thing he did was sneak Peter into Oscorp labs on a Sunday and show him some secret service ducts he had been saving and other odd things because he missed his best friend but his dad had been weird since the invasion, but Harry wanted nothing more than to try to find a way that he and Peter can stay together.

“It's not fair. Mom understood, remember Pete? She'd say we were meant to stand together?” Peter rolled his eyes at Harry petulance. 

Harry had spent all morning complaining about how his dad was being mean and how much he missed home and how cold the mountains were and how snobby the kids were. He was also not pleased to see bruises on Peter's arms and how Peter's posture was making him look like a baby. It was obvious he needed to be with Peter and take care of him.

"Peter, be honest. You're not ok, are you." Harry's serious tone made Peter look up and meet his eyes for the first time all day.

“Yeah, no, not really. But it's fine, school has been, well, I'm the smallest one still, but it's worse without you." Peter's face dropped again and he started rambling and Harry knew whatever Peter was going to admit to, well, reality was worse. "I'm not saying you protected me, Har, but you stopped me from mouthing off before it was too late, and Gwen… man I miss how she and MJ just made it hard for people to get to us. I'm not good at people and social stuff without you.” Harry had a feeling it wasn't great, but Pete had honest to goodness tears welling up and Harry couldn't help but pull the smaller kid in for a tight hug.

"Oh. Pete, no." He murmured into Pete's fluffy curls, "You kept us all good. You were so strong, so kind for us. You stopped us all from going too far, and you always knew just how to fix us when we were hurting. I don't have any friends at that school Dad sent me to. I try, but no one knows how to fix me on bad days and…" Man, Harry wanted to cry too, but he needed to be solid for Pete. So he forced a smile and pulled back a bit and made Peter meet his gaze. 

"God, Pete, I still listen for your stupid puns and dad jokes during math and chem. As much as I teased you, they made classes better. When I remember a good one, I've been adding them to my tests at school, the Professor seems to enjoy them too. So even so far away, you make my math classes better." Peter gave him a weak smile and started to wipe away the tear tracks with his hands. 

"Man, Har, I'm sorry that no one is there for you. It sucks that you are only allowed to call your dad." Harry rocked back and huffed a bit of laughter out, because of course that was what Pete took away from him.

"It's not your fault Pete. It's a security thing, and because it's an old ass school on a mountain top. We have to use satellite internet and phones." He knew at one time it had been more open, but with the invasion and all the craziness of the world now, the school had tightened communication and security. He was going to school with royalty and kids of oligarchs so he figured it was to stop them from panicking during the next Avengers thing.

"Well. That's shit." Pete grumped.

"Yeah." Harry agreed. Harry started walking again, the halls were a maze of doors and boring corporate art. He wanted to say that when he took over it would be better, but he heard somewhere that this kind of decorating was part of physical security. "So other than the assholes, how's that magnet school?"

"Ok." Peter started trailing behind Harry, scraping his feet against the floor.

"What? What's wrong Pete?"

"Huh? Nothing's wrong."

"Bullshit. I know you. Something isn't going well." Harry waited. Peter was about to give in...

"It's just so competitive, right?" Peter snapped, "But I'm sailing through like it's no big deal. I'm pretty sure even the teachers kinda hate me. So, they have written me off as a show off and suck up. They all think I'm a scholarship kid or something and a leach." 

"What? Why? You earned your placement and any fees were paid." Harry knew that his dad made sure that Peter was always taken care of. It was something that both Osborns agreed upon.

"I don't dress fancy, it's pretty damned obvious I'm on the free lunch program and I still dumpster dive for tech." Peter crossed his arms and kicked at a bit of fluff on the floor.

"Oh, Pete, you know if you wanna build something Dad would give you access to a lab." Peter nodded.

"Yeah, I know, but there is an aesthetic and I'm kind of loving the challenge." He gave Harry a grin that he couldn't help but match.

"You would. I remember your Steampunk Iron Man costume from last year. Did the cops ever give you back the hand cannon?" It had been the highlight of the day. Peter couldn't make a repulsor yet, but he had created a kind of subsonic blaster that could knock over trash cans. Unfortunately, old Mrs. Abernathy said it was a weapon. They had tried to get away, but she had gripped Peter right and called the cops. Harry had run to get Peter's uncle, but by the time they got back, Peter was already brought to the station. 

"No. Officer Dennings said the DA "opted not to pursue charges of creating a dangerous weapon." But I had to turn over the blueprints and sign something saying I wouldn't recreate it again." Peter was making a frustrated face.

"Did you run it past Dad?" 

"No. Ben said I had to sign. He got mad when I said I should have gotten a lawyer." So that was why he hadn't heard more about that incident. Peter treasured his creations and for it to be snatched away and for Ben to not help him fight… Yeah, that was betrayal for Pete.

"Shit."

"Yeah. May and Ben… I see it in their faces. They were normal kids, like B students and in sports and crap, and I scare them just as much as my grades and shit make them proud." Harry knew Peter's family loved him, but he couldn't, well, the words made sense but he didn't want them to. Peter didn't deserve that.

"Pete…"

"I can't tell them the kids at school resent me because they see me as kicking someone else out of the running for placement at Midtown or Visions. Ben would just tell me to either keep doing my best and ignore them, or go tell a teacher. But you and I both know it would just escalate things. It doesn't help that I just answer questions without thinking and the teachers use me because of it, and the others think I enjoy humiliating them… Har, you and MJ used to be able to stop me and Gwen before it got that bad." It had to be horrendous if Peter was willing to talk this much about things.

"Hey, Pete, maybe I can get Dad to, I dunno… you think May and Ben would let you come to LAS with me?" Peter looked him in the eyes and shook his head.

"Har, he offered."

"What?"

"Before you left. He sent that ass lawyer, Donovan. He came to Ben and May, and they thought I was asleep. He came in and showed them brochures and said it was paid for and that they'd even fix my documentation. But they didn't want me to go. Hell, they seemed to imply they only put up with me going to the Academy was because it was in the borough and free." Peter said bitterly.

"Dad... tried?" Harry felt his thoughts stutter to a stop.

"Yeah, he even emailed me later." Peter said quietly, "He said he was sorry, but Ben adopted me, so he had no way to keep us together. He kinda implied you wouldn't have kept up with me in my public school, and that it was ok, because you were so good with words and people. He also implied I was gonna have to get a thick skin. I think he knew public school was gonna get me picked on." 

"God." Harry didn't know what to do with that. It was so easy to blame his dad, but he had overheard his dad talking about the insanity just having Stark in town could bring. New York was not safe.

"Yeah. Your Dad, he loves you. I'm sorry Ben didn't let me stay with you." Harry was not happy to see Peter look so sad. He knew his best friend's family loved him, but had trouble understanding the way Pete worked. 

"Pete, that's not on you. And man, I looked it up, you are on track to graduate in like four years, maybe sooner if you test out of some stuff. That is supposed to be nearly impossible at Midtown. Dad was right that I couldn't have kept up. Your brain is amazing. I think I heard Dad saying something about CalTech or MIT for you." Harry said in a bright tone as he pulled open a hidden door and ushered Peter into a dim service elevator, " He wants you in our labs for sure. I do too." Harry grinned and pulled Peter through the dark service corridors of the Oscorp Building.

"Har, that was always the plan, remember?" Peter trotted to try to keep from being dragged like a pull-along toy.

"Yeah, you making discoveries, me keeping the company running and making good deals, Gwen keeping you from breaking laws and keeping you safe, MJ running PR and keeping me safe." Harry recited. It had pretty much been his bedtime story since he was little. Only small things changed.

"We are gonna make Oscorp bigger than SI or Pym Tech." And yeah, Peter knew the story too because all the sleepovers and playdates. His dad loved to tell them just how big of a future he saw for them, how he was excited to see how they would change the world. He knew Peter was going to get a doctorate or a few, he was destined for an MBA and probably a poli sci degree. Gwen was going to either join Peter in the labs or run their physical and cyber security (it changed depending upon her mood.) Mary Jane had already expressed an interest in PR and Harry couldn't think of anyone he trusted more with the image of Oscorp. That reminded him...

"Did you hear about MJ?" Harry forced a bright tone into his voice as he changed subject.

"What?"

"She's gonna be in some actual movies about those fairy books she sent us all for Christmas. It's a 3 picture contract. She's got her TV show to do some storyline about her moving to cover it too. Its lucky that she's not the only lead." It was amazing how fast her career was going. She had started with commercials and a few walk on rolls around New York, but now that she was in LA she was always on some show in addition to the tween drama show she was a regular on.

"Oh I had wondered why she sent those books. She hated romance books." Pete said with a bounce in his step and a smile on his face.

"She still does." Harry confirmed, he had talked to her most of the plane ride home because she was the only one he wasn't going to get to see. "Murder mystery all the way, that girl. She likes that vampire detective series."

"She's too young to play that one though." Pete said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, give her time. I think she's doing this to prove she can do a franchise series. If she isn't playing PI Contesssa Francesca De La Clara in six years it will only be because she is at college and preparing to run Oscorp PR." Harry knew that MJ would find a way to make it happen if that's what she really wanted. She was a bulldozer.

"Yeah, she's amazing. You know the blogs say the only reason she hasn't got an Emmy or Globe for her performance is because she's on Nick. But her show kept winning."

"Yeah, Gwen got to be her plus one at the last Kids Choice too, said it was crazy." Peter look stunned. But he had to of known, MJ didn't mention anything like Pete cutting her off. But now Harry wasn't sure what was going on. Did anyone keep up with Pete?

"MJ… remember her stupid Princess karaoke box." Peter had a wistful look. Harry snorted that was MJ's favorite thing.

"Yeah, you made it indestructible, hooked it online to a database of songs, and made the microphones wireless tiara headsets." Peter gave him an unrepentant grin, "Because of you and her we all had to learn KPop dancing. But you and MJ were amazing at it."

"Wanna know something?"

"What?"

"I still dance. I can't stop. It's the only time I can stop thinking anymore." Peter confided, "That and running, but with May and Ben, they still think I have asthma. So, if they find me running or dancing, they stop me before I get to the place where I stop being in my head."

"Just pop dancing?" Harry was curious.

"Yeah. I tried to learn ballet and breakdancing from YouTube, well more than what MJ and Gwen taught me. I can do some moves and stuff, but I think I'd need a teacher to do it right." At this Peter stopped and did a spin and a bit of a leap, he wasn't bad for no lessons.

"Oh." Harry looked around, they had arrived at the destination he had planned, "Hey. This is what I wanted to show you. This is the Parker Lab. See. Plaque and everything." He gestured to the large glass wall and beyond it was one of the most advanced genetics laboratories in the world. It wasn't even fully in use. So far only one researcher had space.

"Oh man. Harry." Peter's voice was wet and kind of choked.

"Why are you crying?"

"Thank you." Peter said and he reverently traced his parents names on the plaque that honored them.

"I think Dad was gonna show you like later, but I kinda thought you needed to know just how much your parents did and how important they were. They would have been so, well, your brain wouldn't have been scary to them, I think." 

"Harry," Peter smiled at him and then tackled him in a tight hug, "You are the best friend I could ever have. I needed to see this."

"Come on. Dad was talking to Dr Conners about some crazy spider hybrid."

"What?" 

"Yeah, they were kinda proof of concept. But apparently they are fun colored and purr? It sounded weird."

"Yeah, dude. Can we get in?"

"Yep, courtesy of Dad's ID and our very similar fingerprints." Harry held up a key card with his dad's face scowling at them. Peter laughed.

"How… never mind. Spiders?"

"Spiders." Harry confirmed


	4. Probably Not Human

Peter saw the spiders, saw a formula for chemical spider silk, saw a small pinprick of a welt on his wrist that wasn’t there before. That night and for the whole next week he was sick. So sick his aunt & uncle took him to an urgent care that told them it was the flu and gave them extra strength Tylenol and TheraFlu. Harry hadn't been allowed to see him and Mr Osborn had actually sent an RN to check in too.

He hurt, it was the worst pain ever. His skin was on fire, his muscles were pulled apart, his bones ached. He cried every time his eyes opened, and every noise made his ears feel like they were bleeding. At the end of the week, his fever broke. His first shower after that was like knives, May’s lavender soap was an assault on his senses and made him wretch. 

So he focused. He spent the next two days getting back to the point where his clothes don’t feel like sandpaper and the sounds of the city don’t make him want to rip his ears off. Food took longer. Processed foods he had found were the safest, raw produce was a crapshoot. Citrus, peppermint, and lavender make him gag. Sodas make him more jittery than ever. 

Peter spent the last of his June learning his body, how hard he could touch before it was too much. How to walk, how to jump, how to seem to have human limits again. He had new senses that added up to brand new social anxiety. He could just tell when he was being watched and his brain linked it to fear. He had this weird precognition of when something harmful was around, but it was always blaring unless he was under his bed or in the back of a coat closet. He just had to get used to the fact that he was just going to have to live with fear as his constant companion.

School had already ended, he had aced his exams while fevered, did his advancement tests while aching. He suffered through interviews while feeling neurotic due to sensory overload and a developing anxiety sense. He was getting better at faking being ok.

Then when it was over, he started parkour because all the sudden he was vibrating out his skin with energy and anxiety. He just couldn't stay still and free running was the best way to channel it. He also found his grip was better than ever and his flexibility was almost like every joint was double jointed.

He was more aware of being alone than ever before as he ran through the city on routes only he could take. Harry was back in Europe for summer session, Gwen was chained to her year-round prep school, MJ was so far away. He didn’t dare tell anyone about his new powers and was back before curfew every night.

He avoided talking to Ben & May, but kept up on his chores, did as much studying as he could for next year and filled notebooks with notes on what was going on with his body. 

Honestly, dissociation was really helping him not be terrified about the fact that he probably wasn't human anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok. Sorry for the inconsistency of these chapters. This started as a kind of outline to get the idea out of my head, then I found blocks of text and dialogue that I was kind of proud of. 
> 
> The end result was me going through, editing and making it people-readable and posting as I find a good stopping point in the story. Due to that, the timeline will skip, perspectives will bounce, and some chapters will be dialogue heavy and others almost essay-like character studies.
> 
> I've got an outline that takes me to Peter's high school graduation.
> 
> Thank you for reading and being understanding.


	5. Express Mail

It was a rainy Saturday afternoon when an Express van stopped by their apartment building. Peter noticed it but ignored it because Uncle Ben was now on something for cholesterol and their insurance required that any prescription that was for more than 30 days be sent via the mail. Peter for once was overcome with lethargy and was curled up in blankets as the rain beat out a steady rhythm.

It was nice. The whole week had been muggy and the heat just kept getting worse. He wanted to go to the city pool but the chemicals and people set him into an overwhelming state of panic. But now, it felt like his body would let him rest. He was just going to close his eyes…

And there was a sharp rap at his door.

"What?"

"Come on Pete, you can't sleep the day away." His Uncle Ben admonished him, "Besides, you got a package." Peter crawled out of his cocoon and opened his door. Ben pulled him out and into the kitchen where a bowl was set out with Spaghettios and a few cheese and Dutch Loaf sandwiches where waiting for him. Aunt May was in the living room area holding a larger Express branded box, looking at it with confusion.

"Peter? Who would be sending him something via Express?" May questioned. Ben shrugged and then told Peter to eat before he could look. May agreed and put the box down and went back to folding laundry while watching Bake Off. 

Peter ate and then washed his dishes before joining his aunt and uncle in the living room. As he sat Ben put the box in his lap and gave him a small penknife.

"Here you go, Sport. Let's see it." Both adults watched him as he cut through the tape and pulled out a gym bag in black with bright blue and yellow accents and piping. On top were three greeting card envelopes. 

"Oh. Harry. Gwen? MJ?" He smiled as he opened and read them. Gwen sent him a card with a Pomeranian in a tux and a glittery bowtie. He kind of glossed over her letter on the inside, her script was tight and scribbled, he'd take time later to actually read it. MJ sent a card that opened into a poster that was just a giant gold star with the words SHINE ON! A small note on pink stationary fell out and Peter was charmed to see her bubble letter script in so many colors. Harry sent him an Iron Man card, from the kids section, with the interior message whited out. Instead was a letter length message talking about how much Harry missed him and what was in the box and who it was from. Thankfully he printed his message as Harry's script was worse than Gwen's.

"Man, I miss them." 

"I know, hon. What is going on though?" May asked.

"MJ got me a couple of light hoodies, leotards, leggings, and shoes. Gwen got me the bag, water bottle, a day-planner, and first aid kit. And Harry got me ballet and gymnastics lessons." Peter answered. He was so touched at how much thought that they had put into it and how they had worked together. Everything was durable and sized up enough that he shouldn't need to replace it too soon. The planner already had his lessons filled in.

"What? Why?" Ben asked. His face was doing that thing that meant he was trying to be neutral but he was feeling resentful. He seemed to do that every time Peter got something that obviously cost more than $50 from the Osborns. 

May had a similar expression but a bit different, she didn't like this for some other reason that Peter didn't understand yet. She didn't typically get upset over money being spent on Peter. She did still worry about his health. But his last pediatrics visit confirmed he had outgrown his asthma and she seemed ok with his near daily runs. Peter decided to wait and see what her objection would be.

"Remember back in May? When I saw Harry during his break?" Both nodded, "Well, we talked for a bit about when MJ used to bully us all into singing and dancing. I mentioned that I kinda missed learning from her and that I was trying to mimic ballet videos. So I guess this summer I'm gonna be dancing." Peter smiled brightly, "And I think the gymnastics is Gwen's idea because we both used to love the monkey bars and the classes in the gym where we got to play on the parallel bars." Peter re-read the cards, "Yeah. It is. Look, MJ even vetted the places, and is expecting videos." He held up MJ's note which was written in like 15 colors of glitter gel pen.

"They are both pretty close by." Ben commented as he picked up the paperwork that was all in a neat manilla envelope. 

"You sure you wanna do this?" May asked, "I know you don't tell us, but both Ben and I know the kids at school are not very nice to you. Won't this…" So her issue was due to wanting him to be able to fit in, "Nevermind. I hope you enjoy this." She said with a resigned sigh.

"Pretty nice early birthday gifts." Ben's voice was trying too hard to be nice. Peter decided to play along.

"Yeah…" Peter kept reading Harry's card, "Wait. Harry says it's a you made it to Midtown gift…" he looked up at Ben and May "What?" Both looked surprised too.

"How did he know," Ben asked, "I just got an email today?" Peter sighed, he wasn't going to acknowledge the fact that Ben already had the email but didn't tell him first thing. They were probably planning on surprising him at dinner or something. But Mr Osborn could have been more subtle.

"Um, two possibilities, Mr Osborn can be a bit… well, he's still following my education. Also Oscorp is a pretty big donor to the technology magnet schools. Um, what's this…" Peter found one more card, this one was a picture of a goat with a blue ribbon, way to goat, and a nice explanation of everything. "Oh Mr Osborn, such a punny card. This is handy, he got me a Metrocard. Yeah, he said my name came up in a donor meeting and he confirmed my acceptance. He also says to let you guys know that while he has friends at Yale and Harvard, he's been talking to alumni from MIT and Caltech and thinks they could be great schools for me, especially for my graduate studies." Peter said and carefully put the cards in the bag which was full of athletic wear.

"What?" May shook her head.

"What is wrong with NYU or hell, starting with your general credits from community college?" Ben grumbled.

"Nothing, but with the AP classes, I'm going to have a lot of them done with. Besides, it would be kind of cool to go to the same school that spawned either Tony Stark or Hope Van Dyne and Hank Pym." Peter answered.

"Pete. Sport, that's still a ways off." Ben said with a sigh.

"Even if you don't skip another grade, that puts you at 16 at graduation. I really think you need to think about colleges you can attend while living here." May said in a carefully neutral manner.

"What?" Peter was confused now, this was the first time he had ever heard either of them say anything about him not going away to college. Before, he remembered Ben mentioning Cornell as an option because that's where his mom and dad had gone. May had seemed excited before when he had mentioned MIT when he was eight.

"What about CUNY? Or hell, if Osborn really wants prestigious, Columbia?" May suggested.

"Yeah. Ok. I'll research them and I'll ask Mr Osborn to stop pushing for out of state for me." Peter acquiesced. It was ok, they were right, New York had great schools and he was going to be young, too young to be alone in another state. It was good that they had stopped him before he had gotten too far ahead. It was good that they wanted him close by. It was.

"Good." May said with a smile.

"Where are you going, Pete?" Ben asked as Peter stood up.

"I'm going to put this stuff away." He answered and soon he was back in his cocoon.


	6. Summer Classes

The rest of July and all of August was packed. 

Tuesdays and Thursdays were ballet lessons. He had them with a few other dancers who drifted in and out. They really were there to get additional lessons and act as learning aids. Madame Lebedinsky was exacting and as soon as she figured out that he was flexible and had stamina she decided he needed to have form and spatial awareness drilled into him. She also required him to do so many exercises.

His lessons were two hours of her sharp critiques pushing him to be better, to hold his posture tighter, to keep his limbs closer, to do just one more arabesque or pirouette. He left lessons with determination and knowing he was going to get to the level she wanted him at. After all, he was pretty sure according to Madame Lebedinsky, she was going to drag him there herself.

Mr. Holyoak was a very different style of teacher. His lessons with the gymnastics coach were also used as time that Holyoak used to do his own practice. Every Monday and Wednesday he'd start the lesson asking what Peter wanted to learn to use. Then the next half hour was Holyoak showing him a few things, then Peter copying him. After that he was told to play around and was given tips on form and small corrections.

It was kind of fun, especially as Holyoak knew he wasn't looking to compete or anything. Peter was really just doing this for exercise. They almost always spent the last hour on floor exercises which Peter kind of enjoyed. And he could apply most of it to his parkour runs. When he mentioned his running to Holyoak, the man looked baffled and asked why the hell was he even doing gymnastics if he was a runner. Peter blamed Gwen. 

As summer ended he was surprised at the gym by Gwen. The blonde grinned at him and applauded wildly from the observation balcony the place had for parents. She had caught his flipping around the uneven bars. 

Holyoak dismissed him to go see her.

"Pete, you were amazing." Gwen said as she hugged him.

"I'm sorry I haven't made it over to Manhattan to see you."

"Nah, we've all been so busy. If I'm not at a club, I'm stuck studying, or I'm at self defense. Daddy also has me shadowing him at work sometimes and oh my god, the boys are all terrible. Just last night Howie found a terrible chat I had with Betty and he and Sy did a dramatic reading during dinner. Mom refused to let me stop them and Traitor Pants Phil put it on his Insta. Then I get a lecture about boys and dating and safe sex. It was the worst!" Gwen's exaggerated gesticulation was over the top and made Peter grin.

"So, the boys are alive and well?" 

"Yeah, Mom has them all in a school that is intended to feed into mine, and the snots are all in baseball and soccer." Gwen pulled out her phone and showed him some more recent photos of her three little brothers, "Phil hates it, but Simon and Howie are doing fine."

"Well, you already know I'm going to Midtown next year. Maybe we can meet up after school sometimes?" Gwen sighed. 

"Maybe, but Dad's kinda miffed you are just skipping to high school. He doesn't seem to get that we aren't rivals and never were. He's all 'You are just as smart as that Parker kid.' Its exhausting." Gwen had a put upon expression and collapsed into a chair dramatically, "Mom took his phone the day after Mr Osborn called me to let me know your good news so that Dad couldn't call my school and complain."

"I'm sorry, but in my defense Mr Osborn knew about everything like a month before I did."

"I know, don't get your britches in a knot." Gwen said with a kind look, "Mr Osborn is a snoop and a control freak. It's expected at this point."

"Ok." Peter said. He couldn't think of anything else to say. Gwen was right, but she had a way of being far too blunt.

"Hey, Pete?" She was looking at him with a frown etched in her face.

"Yeah?"

"Your Insta has been dead lately. Like even your finsta. But your mentions and comments are bad."

"Yeah." Peter sat on the floor in a loose sprawl, he knew where this was going.

"Your Facebook is nothing but garbage now, too." Gwen was looking at her phone and not meeting his eyes, "Its really bad. Like Mom saw it and started linking me videos about cyberbullying and other bull. Dad said he didn't want to see my name in your mentions because if they were that mad…" Gwen stopped. "Dad's still pretty bad at social media, but he knew it was bad. I mean you're pretty ok sounding in Discord, but it's just us there."

"Yeah, I know. I tried to get my Facebook deleted and Insta too. I'm convinced at this point I'm gonna have to break into their servers." Peter tried to joke. It wasn't really a joke though.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Gwen's voice broke a bit. Peter looked up alarmed.

"Gwen, I... You…" Peter stopped, "It's hard being small. It's harder when I spent all last year missing having my three besties with me. I've never been without Harry let alone you and MJ. By the time I stopped being depressed about you guys, I realized that I had a bunch of hyper competitive people mad at me for answering questions and getting good grades."

"Oh goodness, Pete. I'm sorry I didn't notice." Gwen dropped to the floor next to him and hugged him.

"Nah, I didn't ask for help."

"You shouldn't have to. Not from me."

"Its ok. I'm going to Midtown and should be safe from those losers for at least two years." Peter said softly.

"Yeah, but now you'll be exposed to a new group of asshats." Gwen's face was serious.

"Ok. Yeah. But maybe I'll find a friend?" 

"Maybe. MJ sent me a list of things her manager did to her Facebook and Instagram, we'll make you private and protected. We are going to go to a library and fix online you. Colleges and jobs look at that now." Gwen said decisively, "Then we are going to make a silly video tasting things from a snack box subscription I got for fun. It will become a monthly thing we have to do face to face."

Peter loved being with Gwen, she was so great at finding solutions. She just knew how to fix him.


	7. The Club President

Aaron Davis took one look at the kid coming into the Robotics Club and knew he needed to help the squirt from getting stomped on by jealous nerds. He knew that the freshman class had some kind of prodigy child in it, but man, he was tiny.

He sat next to the kid at a work table and glared at anyone dumb enough to try and join them. He was a taller black guy, so it wasn't hard to use any stereotype to make himself seem tougher.

"Hey." The kid looked up and looked around and saw how all the other tables were filled.

"Um, hi?"

"Aaron, imma Junior, and last year's vice president of this club."

"Cool, I'm Peter." 

"You looking forward to making anything in particular?" Aaron asked with a hint of a smile.

"Um, kind of, I mean… Honest, I was kind of hoping to learn more about how to customize parts and maybe use the 3D printer and CNC machine." Peter said, "I used to build stuff fairly regularly, and dumpster dive for parts, so it'd be cool to get better, yeah?" Aaron could respect that. He didn't come from money and did a fair bit of dumpster diving and garage sales to get parts. Jeff and their parents got mad at how his room was like covered in parts and half done ideas. 

"Cool." Aaron smiled and pulled out a sketch book filled with plans for both robotics and tagging, Peter's eyes widened as they saw what the book opened to, strength enhancing gloves. Not too different from the Iron Man, but specialized and just gloves.

"Oh man," Peter breathed as he saw the detail in the idea, "can I look closer, please?" Aaron pushed his book in front of the kid and felt proud as he watched Peter study it, "You should make arm braces that link together on the back and help support your spine. It would also allow for a bigger battery pack."

"You're not wrong. But I also want just gloves." Peter nodded at Aaron's words. "I was kind of thinking of two issues. Workplaces where you need to lift regularly. And people with hand issues like Parkinson's and stuff. I think it can go in both di…" they were interrupted as a larger boy sat down across from them and cheerfully smiled.

"Hey, Peter!"

"Hi Ned," Peter smiled, "Ned. This is Aaron. I think he's gonna be club president this year. Aaron, this is Ned. Ned is a freshman who has a programming focus."

"Cool, good to meet you Ned."

"Great to meet you too." Ned grinned, "Do you know what the focus of the RoboticsFirst competition is this year? And do you know the dates for the City Schools Bot Battles?"

"Nah, man. Today is getting to know folks, listening to Mr. Hapgood give the safety talk, then voting for officers." Aaron said, "So, you two are buds?"

Ned nodded, but Peter was a bit more reserved, "Well, we are in a few classes together and well, I guess. It was kind of nice to find another Queens kid here."

"Queens? Cool, I guess, it's no Brooklyn. But at least ya aren't from Staten Island." Aaron smiled at both boys and made them at least pretend to care about the safety rules. It wasn't too long until the previous year's officers were called up. Last year's president had graduated.

Aaron put himself in the running for club president. It was a pretty easy win, most from last year liked him and the newest members seemed to go with the flow. The rest of the meeting was passing out forms for safety, code of conduct, agreements for the various competitions, and unlike last year, there were no dues, no fundraising. Mr. Hapgood must have gotten that Stark grant that they applied for last year.

It was going to be nice to be able to focus on club work and not financing it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I made Aaron younger. But hopefully not too much so. I like the idea of the Prowler being something that Aaron's been working towards for a while.
> 
> And Ned is too cute to not be Peter's buddy.


	8. High School Friends

Peter had friends at school for the first time outside of elementary school.

It was weird for him, but he enjoyed it. 

Ned took a few classes with him and they sat together at lunch. Ned converted him to loving Star Wars, both still enjoyed Lego, and while Peter was ok at computers, Ned had a gift and Pete loved watching others be great. Ned was not a hacker or anything but he did have a curiosity and breathtakingly bad impulse control. An off hand comment about wondering why a reality show did a twist, and Ned would say "Oh, I think I still have a backdoor at NBC Universal." And then he'd pull up an email or chat chain from the showrunners. 

Peter was in awe, but also knew he needed to get Ned focused or the guy would spoil all TV for him and most movies. Or actually worse, he'd go to prison. Yeah, that would be bad.

Peter had no idea how to do help Ned. So he wrote Harry. He was hopeful Harry knew of some project or problem that he could point Ned at. He just needed to keep Ned occupied until the end of high school, college should be challenging enough to keep the budding programmer from causing too many problems.

Right?

-

Aaron was amazing. He was so much older and cooler than him. His modular exosuit ideas were groundbreaking and Peter couldn't wait to see what his next idea would be. Aaron wasn't talking about colleges and that wasn't ok with Peter. Someone with so much to create should be able to go and get his masters in engineering, if not more. 

Aaron was also an amazing artist and loved his neighborhood and family so much. He was so proud of his older brother Jeff, a cop in the 84th, and his sister in law, Rio, a new ER nurse who got her education while carrying around her baby boy. Bed-Stuy wasn't a safe neighborhood but he knew the community, and even had taken Peter on salvage runs a few times. The last time ended with them playing with Aaron's nephew while Rio slept for her nightshift. 

Little baby Miles was four and already so clever. He helped them strip down their finds and put screws and nuts into Ziploc bags by size. He knew not to touch lenses and had ideas about climbing bots like bugs that could find people in bad places. Peter loved spending time with Miles and loved watching how soft Aaron was with him. It was such a contrast to big tough Aaron who shielded Peter and Ned from the bullies Midtown had.

Peter knew Aaron should be looking at a future with a lab and military and medical contracts. He knew he was going through life with an advantage due to the Osborns. Maybe Mr Osborn wouldn't mind if he suggested that his friend should have a bit of help too?

-

Michelle was the oddest girl he had ever met, but Peter was always watching her. She did amazing art and had a way of looking at the world and not only seeing what was wrong but asking for it to be better.

She loved dark and plotty thrillers where no one was happy, but she also, occasionally had a Baby Sitters Club book in her bag. She read profiles and biographies of killers and unsung pioneers.

She argued with teachers and had her supporting sources. She was quiet in class though, almost like she wanted to fade away. She wore band shirts and made shirts for causes she championed. One study hall Peter watched as she learned how to crochet and over the next two, made a Pussy Hat that she then wore.

Watching her made Peter think. What was his responsibility to his community and the future? He knew most of what his future was going to be, but while the goal was to make Oscorp the best, what did that do to the world? Was there something he could do to make their supply chains mostly green and better for the communities they touched? What were the ethical obligations of a multinational organization?

He started reading more philosophy and economic studies. He asked Mr Osborn more questions about projects, contracts, and where policy guidelines came from. He also asked about staffing ratios and scholarships and grants to help ensure that the future organization was more diverse and represented the world. Peter thought that maybe he should figure out how to say something to Michelle so she could keep him thinking about this stuff and maybe even give him better questions to investigate.


	9. Movie Sleepover

"Peter Benjamin Parker!" Peter was tackled on the steps after school in a tight hug by 5 feet of denim and holographic glitter.

"Mary Jane Louise Watson." He replied softly. He hugged her back with a smile, "How'd you find me so fast? Your Insta just posted you landing at JFK."

"I missed you, Tiger." She said, "My Insta has a delay on it. I've been in town for 6 hours. I even had time to film a think for Teen Vogue about Korean skin care in Koreatown. I have a whole bag of goodies to try on you and Gwen."

"I missed you so much. How's LA?" Peter put her down and they walked to where she had a town car waiting.

"I hate  _ everything _ there." She said with a grin, she flipped her hair as she entered the car, "Lucky me, my movies are all filmed here. I helped to convince the studio to stay true to the series and keep it set here. They were thinking about Chicago. Can you believe that?" 

"Ew, no." Peter gave a mocking shutter, "The whole 3rd book really relies upon the fact that Manhattan is a freaking island."

"Exactly. Besides, you owe me dancing." Mary Jane handed him a paper cup with a green tea latte. She had been talking to Gwen. 

"I do. So much." Peter sipped the drink and smiled as it was just the right temperature to drink, "Madame Lebedinsky is strict about cameras and will not let me show off until 'I am to her standards.'" Peter mimicked her French accent. MJ laughed and agreed that her old ballet teacher was a real battle axe and they spent the ride sharing stories of her yelling at them. 

The car stopped outside a boutique hotel in Greenwich. She put Peter on her list of allowed visitors and introduced him to her security team. She hadn't had too many issues but with the movie and being written off her show, her manager added the security into her contract in exchange for not bringing up the fact that her name was being advertised for this project but she wasn't making the same as her older male co stars. 

Peter thought it was bullshit but, MJ seemed ok and he did think additional security was good. The city had been getting crazy and there were times where Peter thought that Mr Osborn was right in saying that the Avengers attracted it all.

He didn't tell anyone but he had started keeping track of all the really insane things. Like all of Hell's Kitchen being blown up, ninjas, then that new skyscraper goes in, earthquakes, then boom, it implodes. He started to use it to avoid hotspots, but he also tried to hit recent sites to scrap before Damage Control could catch the interesting debris. But there are neighborhoods he circles around, places where a vigilante has already claimed territory which means crazy is attracted to it.

It was fine. The Kitchen was on the opposite side of Midtown from his school, the only time he had to go to Harlem was with Aaron on junk runs, and Aaron kept him out of the bad parts. The Avengers didn't seem to leave their Tower unless the world was crashing down but if they did, they stayed close to Park Avenue. Queens and Brooklyn didn't typically see too many weird things, and honestly while the Bronx saw some weird, it seemed to be centered in one area.

They got to her room and he found a seat on a plush loveseat and watched as she fluttered around the room, answering emails, pulling out dresses, checking planners, and all the while chatting about gossip she saw firsthand or about her family drama. She ended up pulling him into a tutoring session as she was working on algebra and chemistry. 

It was well past eight at night before either teen really noticed the time. And that was only because Ben called him to see where he was as it was unlike Peter to stay late anywhere without permission in advance. As soon as May overhead that it was due to “that lovely Watson girl” he was told to feel free to stay and visit as it was a Saturday, but try to text if he was going to come home & to use an Uber because they had credits saved for emergencies like this. But they trusted the two if he was going to sleep over.

Mary Jane took that as permission and ordered pizzas and soda and a few pay-per-view movies Peter hadn’t seen yet, mostly because MJ was the only one who would watch trashy monster and horror with him, and he didn't want to watch them alone. She found Peter a pair of pajama pants and a branded free t-shirt and the two settled in for a late night of nostalgia. 

It was after the credits started rolling on a Godzilla versus Mecha-Godzilla movie that Mary Jane cuddled into his side and he pulled the comforter they pulled from the bed of the suite over top them both. “I missed this.” He whispered.

“Me too.” She muted the tv and made a contented sigh. "So, you really ok? Harry told me Ben and May were kind of cold to him last time he was in."

"It's ok. Last time he was here he saw me for a day and then I got sick." Peter said, "I think they, well, Mr Osborn is now hyper focusing on me going to Queens College for my undergrad and graduate studies at Columbia.” Peter shrugged. He knew the way the Osborns kind of took over his life made the Parkers nervous, but it was how they showed they cared and it had been that way for as long as he could remember. 

“Geez, he does remember he's not your dad?” Mary Jane said waspishly. Peter let out a quiet huff of air and smiled.

“Well, he's the only adult I know that did anything beyond a BA unless it's a teacher, and is going to be paying for it all.” Peter started playing with MJ’s hair and was pleased as she unconsciously moved her head to allow him greater access. 

“Yeah.” she said in a resigned tone, “Harry says he is being sent loads of info about Oxford, Yale, and Harvard. Actually, my mom and my tutors have been talking up Harvard, Brown, and Carnegie Mellon. Gwen said she’s looking at CalTech and Cornell. Mr Osborn has really bought into us as his legacy.” Peter didn’t reply, but moved them so she was sitting between his legs sideways on the couch and he started a complicated french braid he saw on YouTube. They sat in silence for a while as he twisted her hair into a complex style. She handed him a scrunchie once he was done.

Peter finished up the last of the pizzas and MJ insisted on walking him through a Korean skincare routine that ended with them both in paper masks that looked like tigers and only took an hour and ten minutes to do. After that grueling ordeal, Peter walked MJ through another set of balancing equations for chemistry. After 3 am, they started one of the Saw movies and fell asleep on each other. 

Peter woke to the sound of a waiter bringing in breakfast and the cycle of movie commercials that played on the pay-per-view channels. He pulled out a five and tried to tip the woman, but she refused, stating that tips were not encouraged as they used a no-tip wage model. Which turned into Peter asking question after question about wages and tippable professions. Mary Jane woke up and saved Raquelle from his inquisition and made Peter sit & enjoy the food while MJ grabbed a smoothie and went to get a shower. While she as in there Raquelle came back with a bag from H&M and said it was per “Ms. Watson’s request” and left before Peter could figure out what to do with the large white shopping bag.

MJ bounced out of the restroom, with her hair still slightly damp, and dressed for the day in skinny jeans and a tunic sweater in a bright plaid. She took the bag from Peter and made a delighted sound. She then started to pull out a light grey pair of skinny cords, a dark red collared shirt with polka dots in the shape of tiny stars a few shades lighter than the shirt, and a thin cable knit sweater in a swirl of blues. She pushed him to finish eating then made him go get cleaned up and put on the outfit she picked out. When he was done, she put something in his hair and fluffed and twisted it until it fell as she wanted it to. As she messed with him Peter had an idea.

“Hey, MJ. Wanna do something High School?” She looked up at him from playing with the cuffs of the pants.

“What?” 

“Homecoming is in two weeks. We’d be the youngest people there, but it could be fun with you.” Peter said with a smile. MJ stood up and grinned at him. 

“Oh, that could be good. Football game or dance?” 

“We can do both,” Peter said with a bit of joy growing in him, “But to be fair, I do go to a nerd school, so our team sucks.” MJ liked sports so he didn’t want her to get her hopes up for a thrilling  _ Friday Night Lights _ type experience. 

“So bad?” she asked with a tilt to her head.

“The worst.” He wasn’t exaggerating, it was well known that MSST was one of the worst in the district.

“Could still be fun.” She said with a grin. It was the smile she always wore when she was thinking of ways to liven up a situation.

“Yeah, you make everything better. Besides, Gwen can't come.” Peter finished with a slight head shake. MJ laughed and sighed.

“What, who did she beat up?” she asked with a resigned tone.

“Our schools had a robotics competition. She heard one of my teammates talk shit about me, and now has a restraining order and since the guy also plays football…” Peter trailed off.

“Oh Gwendy, you would think she's a ginger with the way she gets fired up.”


	10. Gwen's Day Out

Gwen had been over the moon to see MJ.

Gwen was thrilled to bits to see she had Peter in tow.

Gwen was going to get out of the damned church clothes her mom made her wear and go out with MJ and Petey.

And no one, not her brothers, not her father, not even the threat of Sunday night dinner with her mom’s side was gonna get her to stay or agree on a curfew before eight. 

Her brothers wouldn’t stop trying to steal Petey and make him their tutor slave, or get him to teach them how to make explosives, or whatever they found out the little mad scientist could do.

Her dad was trying to use the fact that he was working on an organized crime task force as a reason to have the shopping sessh turn into a Netflix day at home. 

Mom, was evil, and said she thought Uncle Frankie was gonna be at the family dinner. Now, Uncle Frankie was objectively the coolest and nicest and didn’t do stupid stuff like say how she was “gonna break hearts because she was a looker” or comment on how it was so “interesting” that she had a focus in both coding and biology. She also knew that he understood because even though he had graduated law school with freaking honors, Grammy was still trying to tell him he needed to stop being a “hotshot” and help them out. But Uncle Frankie regularly turned down Sunday night dinners to hang with his besties, so he'd understand.

MJ was awesome, Peter was too. 

Peter got her brothers to back off by inviting them along, they were planning to stop at Sephora and Ulta because MJ was going to help him get his eyeliner game good and help him with putting together a solid skincare routine and maybe a BB cream or other color corrector. MJ said they should defo come because it was never too early to learn about good skin hydration.

MJ introduced her dad to her security detail and gave him contact info for their service. Peter helped her dad turn on Facebook messenger, had him friend his family, put him in a chat with them and then a second chat with her, MJ, & Peter and set a reminder to text him with a few selfies every couple hours. 

Peter and MJ offered to join the family dinner, but MJ had a weird diet because her mom tried to be both Halal and keep to Hindi traditions too. So cooking for her was almost always vegetarian to be safe, and Mom’s family had never had a meal where a pig did not get cooked in someway. Peter was also getting weird food allergies and sensitivities and could provide a list of spices and such that made him break out or act weird. Graciously, Gwen was handed a fifty and told to go find a nice vegan cafe to take her buds for dinner.

Gwen was in jeans, a hoodie and had birthday cash and spending cash, and dinner money and was going to spend the day doing shopping and other stupid things with her besties. Her phone was charged, her bag had a cord and spare battery pack. She also had so many things to talk to them about. 

MJ’s first purchase was a new fanny pack for Pete. It was cool-ish, but more importantly, it was pocket space for him and was loaded up with a new battery pack for his phone, chapstick, anti-bacterial lotion, tissues, mace, and still had room for him to add a book, a snack bar, and a bunch of zip ties and a small roll of wire and multitool. The pack even strapped to his leg like a gun holster and he grinned as he told them that he needed one that wasn’t leather for freerunning.

At that, MJ called bullshit. 

Gwen backed Peter up, she had seen him running over rooftops one day when she was going to his place to pick him up to go embarrass some nerds at a trivia night at an under 18 bar near NYU.

MJ still said bullshit, but grabbed a kevlar version and a Go-Pro. Then at lunch, over her rice and blazing hot curry, she made a private YouTube channel called  _ PeterParkoursNYC _ and made Petey promise to upload a run a week.

Gwen thought the punny channel name was a bit much, but followed it.

She was then treated to a facial and listened as MJ explained to her and Peter that nightly skincare was what she used to meditate, and agreed that she’d try. Peter said he’d try anything to meditate, and explained that it seemed like his anxiety was ramping up and sitting quiet-like was  _ not helping _ because when he sat still he had to  _ listen to the city _ which they all agreed was not restful. Gwen missed Harry for times like these because he knew how to calm Petey down and all she wanted to do was fix him.

She had learned over the years people did not want fixed. But it was hard to know what to do otherwise.

Peter understood when she told him this. He tried to fix things too. He said his aunt said it was because they were born to be scientists and engineers. People skills were going to be harder to learn.

MJ said that was all fine. She wanted froyo and needed to get Peter in mascara because she wanted to see how amped up she could make his eyelashes.

Gwen asked Peter if he was ok at school because yeah, he could fuck with gender norms like David Bowie and look cute as hell, but Gwen knew he as already the youngest in his grade and smart as fuck. Peter laughed and called up three friends to join them. Within two hours they were joined by a stocky Filpino guy, a tough looking girl with the frizziest hair ever, and a tall dude who just exuded a chill vibe. Pete was thrilled to introduce her and MJ to Ned, Michelle, and Aaron. 

Aaron had to leave after a bit because he had to babysit his nephew. Peter told him to give the baby a big hug from him. MJ and Michelle couldn’t decide if they liked or hated each other, but it was kind of funny to watch them both be judgy as hell but then get super into debating over sustainability and politics.They both agreed that Peter was not allowed to get his haircut because the curls made his look work.

Ned and Gwen watched everything with smiles and traded emails. As it turned out, she had been trading emails with him already over drone coding. It was always nice to put a face to a name.

MJ ended the day out by dropping everyone off in a limo that she called up. Gwen was thrilled to have her verify that she was in town for at least a few years. She had missed MJ so much. She had been like 60% of Gwen’s impulse control in elementary school.

Gwen ended the night with her mom and a piece of Grammy’s apple coffee cake and giving her all the family news she had missed. Her mom was good like that.


	11. Kids at Galas

Peter remembered going to fancy parties with the Osborns. It wasn't often, but there were times that Mr. Osborn could not let Harry stay home with a nanny, and Harry had a better time if Peter was there and they had books and a small bag of Lego.

They were shiny and scary. Old people in glittery gowns and dark tuxedos would look over the two kids sitting at the head table and exclaim over their politeness and how they were so good. Sometimes another kid was there and would join them for a bit, only to be whisked away by a tutting parent who wanted to show off the kid to some other old person. Harry never liked seeing that. He said he felt bad that he couldn't save the others from being social currency.

One time they were joined by a slightly inebriated Tony Stark who said he wished he had grown up with a best friend and that Harry's dad, while he was a monster in contract negotiations, was doing ok as a dad. He also corrected the math in a library book Peter was reading.

Tony was pulled away from playing Lego with them by a laughing Ty Stone, from Alcamax. Peter knew him from files he wasn't supposed to see about a joint venture in medical technology and gene therapy. Ty told Tony that someone named Obby had figured out that matchmaking was going on and that he hated the Walker lady.

Harry said to Peter later that night that it was an open secret that Stark had grown up as social currency and that was why he was always drunk at parties. He said that was why he needed Peter; when Peter was there Mr. Osborn was better able to remember that they were kids and not props. 

They saw Tony at other parties and events, but he never joined them again. Harry said it was because a photo of them had been on page 6 and it had become a minor scandal and while Harry's dad wasn't mad at Tony, they agreed that the kids needed to be protected. Later that day Peter looked up the coverage of that night. The comments on it ranged from people gushing about cuteness to the lewd and speculative. It was just gross. But at least the photo was nice, it was of Tony putting Lego together with them, making a spaceship.

Peter was thankful he was able to be there for Harry. He was thankful Mr. Osborn didn't feel the need to taut Harry's accomplishments as his own like he had seen Mr. Bishop doing with Katie. He was thankful that Mr. Osborn was confident enough in Peter's future being suitable to let Harry grow without too many other expectations that he wasn't being crushed by the weight of fulfilling parental dreams like Zeke Stane had been (it wasn't a secret that Ezekiel Stane was in a home Upstate because he had cracked when his dad finally saw that he wasn't going to be another Tony Stark). 

Growing up rich wasn't a burden. But it was the problem of growing up with parents that forget that kids are messy and make mistakes and don't always have to follow a predetermined path.


	12. Planning for Holidays

Norman made sure that this year he'd have Christmas off. Last year he had been in Europe during late December and just had Harry join him for a small holiday in Spain. It had been pleasant enough, but he knew that his son was only staying put because of the few breaks he had allowed him to almost live with his friends and goof off.

He needed Harry to start getting more serious about his future and he needed to get Peter focused as well. The boy was doing amazing in and out of class, but it wasn't any more valuable to the path they had set than any other extracurriculars. He needed to get Harry to start dialing into shareholder calls and Peter needed an Oscorp mentor.

He had watched a few of the highlight reels of Peter's competitions, both robotics and decathlon. The boy was making himself a key member in each team. Harry was doing amazing with Forensics and had even gotten leads in several plays. Harry was also something of a polyglot, which was something that Norman knew was only due to his son's hard work.

Both boys had good foundations and when they were together, they worked seamlessly as a team. Peter was also scouting talent which would be loyal to him when the inevitable happened and he took on a leadership role in Oscorp Research. 

Norman knew Davis was technically more of a fit for a weapons contractor like Hammer or Stark, but the boy also could and wanted to create prosthetics and robotic medical equipment. It wouldn't do to just let him slip into obscurity or the criminal world due to not funding his education. And he was not going to let Anthony Stark secret away another bright light with his hero work and security organization. 

So he was to be given a summer internship with the Octavius couple and a small meeting would be happening with his parents regarding scholarships and school choices for the budding engineer. Ideally, as the Parkers were so protective of Peter, he could see the Davis boy paving the way at Queens College and later at Columbia or Cornell. Maybe even Caltech or Culver if he could get the Parkers to stop treating Peter like he's supposed to be something as horrible as ordinary.

Edward Leeds was a curiosity. He was best suited to government and security research, but he had decided that he was going to follow Peter. It was like he imprinted like a duckling. He was responsible and respected Peter's other friends. Harry even liked him and was actually happy to leave Peter in Leeds' care. So the question was to groom him to be Peter's second, or should he be moved toward a future which would cultivate his true talents and interesting online connections. Either was going to take getting the boy a suitable mentor with patience.

Michelle Jones was to be matched with a scholarship to George Washington. Her passion for justice and reform needed to be honed and given outlets beyond just protesting and educating her peers. He could see helping her with starting her first NGO or lobbying firm in a few years. Oscorp did not need her internally but she was an interesting influence that had caused Peter to start getting involved with Oscorp in more ways than just reading the research he sent to the boy. Her influence needed distance. Nothing good could come from her seeing how the sausage was made in his corporation.

But now he needed to focus, Christmas in Queens with Harry. And Peter too. 

Christmas was an easy holiday to get the boys together on as the Parkers were rather split on religious beliefs and while Peter started life going to temple, Ben wasn't as interested as Richard had been and May was from a Catholic family but was more agnostic herself and would not have ever let Peter join her old congregation.

It had been a tradition that the Parkers would brunch with them on Christmas morning and then the boys would spend the rest of the day watching Christmas movies and playing with new toys at the Osborn townhouse. The Parkers would pick them both up that night and the boys would sleep over. It had been a nice way to break up the Christmas season and the boys loved it. 

Norman was sure such an arrangement would not work this year. But maybe he could get the Parkers to let him take the boys to Vermont for New Year's. He knew he had once taught the boys ice skating, but while he knew Harry was skiing and snowboarding at LAS, he wasn't sure Peter knew any snow sports. But even if the child didn't like the snow, the small Chalet he had up north was a cozy place and a nice break from New York. Norman dashed off a quick email requesting permission to steal Peter the week after Christmas, Vermont was nice this time of year, with all that snow.

It was still a few months out, but he also messaged Adam, to get his personal assistant to start booking services to ready the chalet and book rink time at the resort it was next to. He also requested a figure skating coach for Peter. Harry mentioned hating the more complicated parts, but with Peter's skill with dance, Norman was interested to see what Peter could do.

Maybe it was also time to start the process of getting the Parkers somewhere nicer, after all there were times he knew Peter missed his first class because he was trying to get from Queens to Midtown and the 7 hasn't run smoothly since the invasion.


End file.
